-The Telegraph New Delhi: Five years after sequencing the pigeonpea genome, Indian scientists have identified Madhya Pradesh as the centre of origin of this nationwide staple legume and discovered genes they say will allow the expansion of pigeonpea cultivation. Scientists at the International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) near Hyderabad and their collaborators in Australia, China and the US yesterday announced the results of a new study that has traced...

-Hindustan Times In a Semi feudal and genderised society like ours, sexuality remains central everywhere; and rape looks like an indigenous, not an exceptional phenomena. Just days after Jyoti Singh’s killers were sentenced to death by the Supreme Court, on May 11, a similar case of gang rape and murder was reported from Rohtak in Haryana. Within the same week, another 10-year-old from the same area was found repeatedly raped by her stepfather...

-The Hindu PoS devices’ demand falls on remonetisation, user charges Cash transactions are beginning to trump almost every form of digital payment alternative with April clocking a decline in volumes as well as value of transactions conducted through cards, mobile banking and the Unified Payment Interface (UPI). The trend assumes significance six months after the Centre announced demonetisation of ?500 and ?1,000 notes on November 8. The near-completion of the remonetisation process and merchants...

-The Hindu Business line Hyderabad: The chances of the El Nino phenomenon impacting the South West monsoon at its peak across India are 60 to 70 per cent, says Weather Risk Management Services (WRMS). El Nino, which refers to the formation of warm water undercurrents in the Pacific Ocean, has been known to have an adverse effect on global weather patterns and occasionally affect the rainfall during the Indian monsoon season. At the...

-TheWire.in After the government cancelled certain cesses that were meant for labourers’ welfare in preparation for the GST, activists suspect that many such moves may be around the corner. Assaults on the hard-earned rights of several categories of workers have been on the rise in recent times, evidenced by the cancellation of cesses meant to be utilised for workers’ social security. If left unchecked, such changes can lead to much bigger losses...